WEST HAVEN, CT (WVIT) -- When a man tried to rob a Dunkin' Donuts in West Haven on Saturday night, an employee acted quickly and stopped him with the closest weapon available -- hot coffee.

The attempted robbery happened at the Dunkin' Donuts at 967 First Ave. at 11:06 p.m. on Saturday, when a man pulled up to the drive-through and asked the clerk for change for a $100 bill, according to Sgt. David Tammaro, of the West Haven Police Department.

When the clerk refused to make the change, the man said this was a robbery and tried to climb through the drive-through window, police said.

"He rushed himself, tried to get out of his car. That's when I realized he was serious. I tried to close the window. He put his arm in it. He knew not to touch, because he knew there would be fingerprints," said Angelica, who did not want to give her last name.

That is when she threw hot coffee in man's face, police said.

"I did see his coffee that I made him, so I looked at (it) quick, threw him the first one. Looked at the pots of coffee and threw the pot of coffee at him. That's when he started running into his truck and then he left, and I said, 'Go run on Dunkin.'"

And he did. The man fled the area in a newer model white Ford Explorer, without stealing anything, according to a news release from police.